Spotlight | Ann Shoket

Happy Spring! I have missed you all. I decided at my one year blogaversary to take some time and reflect about not just the blog, but about my personal life and work life as well. This is the perfect time of year when a fresh perspective does a body good as we wait for the sunshine and the for the flowers to bloom. 

I recently took the time to look at all the notes I scribbled from the Lady Project Summit in Providence, Rhode Island and really drew some inspiration from Ann Shoket. Ann is the former Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen Magazine and is part of the team that launched Cosmo Girl Magazine. (Go ahead and look her up, you know you want to!) She is a delight and a wealth of knowledge and “bad-assery.”

Ann really connected with my inner boss lady and spoke about our career generation and what they really look like today. The modern career woman not only has her job, but she may also have a side hustle AND is working on a passion project (eh hem, this blog). She is also her own career planner dead set on chasing her dreams and ambitions to get to what she considers to be the BIG life. As she spoke, I was nodding constantly as if she was speaking directly to me, it all became so clear. She provided an explanation for the roller coaster of emotions I was experiencing, without ever speaking to me. She shared three key pieces of advice that I want to share with you:

1. Get a job. Any job. | The first job doesn’t have to be your dream job, but every job will get you closer to your dream job. Consider it along the same lines as, ” You have to start somewhere.”
2. The side hustle is the key to success. | While your job pays the bills, the side hustle is how you pay yourself. Think of it as learning something new on your own terms, on your own deadlines and on your own time.
3. Embrace the mess. | The mess is when you are running in a million different directions and the laundry starts to pile up or you notice you are a bit more forgetful… don’t try to control it, just embrace it. It is all part of the process of you learning what works for you and will all start to “swim together” at some point.

The toughest part of the day-to-day is maintaining your motivation level. Make sure that you are taking the time to recharge – even if that means “taking small breaks to keep you from standing on the ledge.”

Ann asked, “Are you feeling like a badass today?”

Essentially, are you out there carving your own path on your own terms? A great question to ask yourself everyday right?! So I am taking her advice and embracing the mess that is part of this thing called life.

Thank you Ann for your inspiration and challenging my current thinking. If you are ever in the Boston area – I would love to just chat over coffee and cocoa.

I hope that Ann’s advice helps you to stay excited about the future and all the possibilities that await you. I am definitely motivated for an even bigger and better year. Thanks for stopping by and reading – make sure to subscribe to my blog for more posts.

OUTFIT 
Dress|| Adrienne Vittadini (similar here, save here, splurge here)
Shoes|| Tahari, (similar here, save here, splurge here)
Accessories || Sole Society Vegan Bag, Lauren Conrad Studs + Ring